I need help with writing my letter to Aetna...
Ashley T.
on 5/3/05 12:52 pm - Edmond, OK
on 5/3/05 12:52 pm - Edmond, OK
I'm going to be submitting my insurannce stuff soon, and I wanted to write a letter to send along with it. Does anyone have a copy of the letter they sent that they can post? Or anything they feel important that should be included when writing a letter like this?
Thanks,
-Ashley
Ashley - I just found out today - I'm approved!!!! 
My letter follows. I wrote it like I would tell it - my story...
Be sure to write it then set it down. Give it a day or two and then reread and revise. Take your time - this is important. 
Good luck!
To: Whom It May Concern
Re: Angela's journey with obesity
My life has been a continuous struggle with fat. Except for my father, no one in my family struggled with extreme weight issues. My appetite has always been excellent - I love to eat. Thank goodness I was physically active with ballet, tap, and outdoor activities as a child. However, my weight was an issue. I was in the special, elite group of kids that met with the school nurse on a regular basis to review healthy eating habits when I was in 5th grade. That meant I took dry tuna, celery, and carrot sticks in my lunch to school each day. I took frozen Sego (the 1960's version of SlimFast in a can) to school as my school lunch in 6th grade. In fact, I drank Sego for breakfast and lunch each day for nearly a year as a young teen. My weight was never extreme in those days... just 20 or 30 lbs overweight. But the battle continued. By the time I was 15 ½ years old, my father offered me a car of my choice if I would reach and maintain 120 lbs for three months. I weighed daily on a balance scale to earn my lovely yellow, 1977 Pontiac Firebird Formula. 120 lbs felt great, looked very skinny, and was incredibly hard to maintain. Jogging 1-2 miles per day, playing tennis daily, and eating about 800 calories a day kept that lovely size, but with added responsibilities of college and then married life, 120 lbs was a weight I was unable to maintain.
My weight steadied at about 140-150 lbs until my first pregnancy in 1981. My weight during pregnancy ballooned to nearly 200 lbs - I had a pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia. Bedrest for 7 weeks - NO Exercise and the challenge to eat nutritiously for my growing baby left me huge, weak, and with a newborn to care for.
Weigh****chers, portion control, exercise, after that time and my weight never got below 170. The years continued and I struggled with weight. Sometimes I would bounce above 200 and then take the weight off only to find it had crept back on plus 10 or 20 lbs until I found myself pregnant again - but starting out at about 190 lbs. I tried "The Rotation Diet", "Atkins", "Pritikin", nutritional counseling, support groups through dietitians, over the counter as well as prescription drugs - all with the end effect of added weight.
Without the Fen-Phen combination, my hunger is continuous and ravenous. My weight hasn't been below 200 lbs since Fen-Phen came off the market. My health has been great and I've been fit until the last few years. I am making a career change ( I have one more class to graduate from massage therapy school) and changing lifestyle habits to promote a healthy weight. Dr. Phil, Dr. Sears "The Zone", Oprah's Making the Connection, more Weigh****chers, Atkins, sensible portion control and I'm nearing 300 lbs and now seeing medical illness starting in my body. Sleep apnea, acid reflux, very painful R knee, and backache are current, weight related maladies in my life. I now have two first-degree relatives who are diabetic. I realize unless I am able to control my weight, my wellness will fade into illness and result in much misery, expense, as well as a shortened life span.
After about 2 years of careful contemplation and study, I have come to the conclusion that I currently need a last resort tool to assist my efforts to gain wellness and prevent obesity related illness. A gastric malabsorptive procedure seems to be my last hope to gain normalcy and long-term wellness.
Your consideration in this matter is appreciated. I feel certain you will understand that my history as well as my current medical status supports the extreme action I propose with weight loss surgery.
Sincerely,
My letter follows. I wrote it like I would tell it - my story...
Be sure to write it then set it down. Give it a day or two and then reread and revise. Take your time - this is important.
Good luck!
To: Whom It May Concern
Re: Angela's journey with obesity
My life has been a continuous struggle with fat. Except for my father, no one in my family struggled with extreme weight issues. My appetite has always been excellent - I love to eat. Thank goodness I was physically active with ballet, tap, and outdoor activities as a child. However, my weight was an issue. I was in the special, elite group of kids that met with the school nurse on a regular basis to review healthy eating habits when I was in 5th grade. That meant I took dry tuna, celery, and carrot sticks in my lunch to school each day. I took frozen Sego (the 1960's version of SlimFast in a can) to school as my school lunch in 6th grade. In fact, I drank Sego for breakfast and lunch each day for nearly a year as a young teen. My weight was never extreme in those days... just 20 or 30 lbs overweight. But the battle continued. By the time I was 15 ½ years old, my father offered me a car of my choice if I would reach and maintain 120 lbs for three months. I weighed daily on a balance scale to earn my lovely yellow, 1977 Pontiac Firebird Formula. 120 lbs felt great, looked very skinny, and was incredibly hard to maintain. Jogging 1-2 miles per day, playing tennis daily, and eating about 800 calories a day kept that lovely size, but with added responsibilities of college and then married life, 120 lbs was a weight I was unable to maintain.
My weight steadied at about 140-150 lbs until my first pregnancy in 1981. My weight during pregnancy ballooned to nearly 200 lbs - I had a pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia. Bedrest for 7 weeks - NO Exercise and the challenge to eat nutritiously for my growing baby left me huge, weak, and with a newborn to care for.
Weigh****chers, portion control, exercise, after that time and my weight never got below 170. The years continued and I struggled with weight. Sometimes I would bounce above 200 and then take the weight off only to find it had crept back on plus 10 or 20 lbs until I found myself pregnant again - but starting out at about 190 lbs. I tried "The Rotation Diet", "Atkins", "Pritikin", nutritional counseling, support groups through dietitians, over the counter as well as prescription drugs - all with the end effect of added weight.
Without the Fen-Phen combination, my hunger is continuous and ravenous. My weight hasn't been below 200 lbs since Fen-Phen came off the market. My health has been great and I've been fit until the last few years. I am making a career change ( I have one more class to graduate from massage therapy school) and changing lifestyle habits to promote a healthy weight. Dr. Phil, Dr. Sears "The Zone", Oprah's Making the Connection, more Weigh****chers, Atkins, sensible portion control and I'm nearing 300 lbs and now seeing medical illness starting in my body. Sleep apnea, acid reflux, very painful R knee, and backache are current, weight related maladies in my life. I now have two first-degree relatives who are diabetic. I realize unless I am able to control my weight, my wellness will fade into illness and result in much misery, expense, as well as a shortened life span.
After about 2 years of careful contemplation and study, I have come to the conclusion that I currently need a last resort tool to assist my efforts to gain wellness and prevent obesity related illness. A gastric malabsorptive procedure seems to be my last hope to gain normalcy and long-term wellness.
Your consideration in this matter is appreciated. I feel certain you will understand that my history as well as my current medical status supports the extreme action I propose with weight loss surgery.
Sincerely, Oh - and Ashley,
Professional appearance for you letter is of utmost importance too. My letter had 1" margins and was typed in Arial size 10 font. My doctors all supported my desire for this tool in my journey to wellness - but I like to think I captured my life story in one page with my letter.
Still dancin' with joy!
Angela
Angela 
Heres the one I used from this site and it worked for me, just fill in the blanks or put your own info in where needed.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/m-ins-lettermn.phtml
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